The Global Economy and the Way to Develop Talent in the East: A Talk by Dr. Stephen Riady at NUS
There are three types of salesman. The first type is a salesman who is only able to sell demanded goods. The second type is a salesman who is able to sell goods although the goods are not demanded. And there is one special type, the third type – that is a salesman who is able to sell the goods that the salesmen does not even have it, to people who do not even want it.
By: Prasetya Dwicahya
It was a bright afternoon on 3rd April 2012, at National University of Singapore (NUS) when one of Indonesia’s most successful businessmen, Dr. Stephen Riady, son of Indonesian conglomerate: Dr. Mochtar Riady, spared his busy time to talk on the topic of global economy and talent development in Asia. Dr. Stephen Riady, who attended bachelor study in University of Southern California, is currently the head of Lippo Group for Asia, a company that offers services across different industries, exists in several countries and is currently worth 24 billion USD.
picture source: www.lipporealty.com
At his opening speech, Prof. Bernard Yeung, dean of NUS Business School, cited a famous Chinese proverb :“To learn means to ask a question” to remind and encourage the audience to vigorously ask questions to Dr. Riady in order to reap some knowledge from him.
Dr. Riady started his speech by telling everyone about the current global economy. He began from Europe, which currently suffers the most. He said that he is relieved that the situation in Europe has been getting better and the recovery would take place really soon, although in his opinion, the current European banking system has to be more conservative.
He later shared his insights on United States economic recovery progress. He is also relieved that the recovery program has taken place and now US economy is getting better. This is indicated by the rising consumer spending and more conservative measures that is currently taken by US financial institutions.
After telling the audience about the situation in the West, Dr. Riady began to talk about China. He was very enthusiastic when discussing about the progress in the East. He mentioned that his father (Dr. Mochtar Riady) has been talking about China and its significant progress. He said that though currently China’s economy is cooling down, for the next 10-20 years, he is confident that China will still enjoy positive GDP growth.
On the issue of talent development in Asia, Dr .Riady said that talent development in Asia needs different requirements and takes a lot more than in western counterparts. The area of focus would be nurturing talent to be flexible and responsive to changes.
The talk was later continued by a Q&A session led by Richard D. Arvey, head of the Department of Management and Organization at NUS Business School. The session ran for 45 minutes. Heeding the advice by Prof. Yeung, the audience asked a lot of questions, ranging from Lippo Group business activities until property investment advice.
At the end of the session, Dr. Riady left his audience with a memorable message. He told them that there are three types of salesman. The first type is a salesman who is only able to sell demanded goods. The second type is a salesman who is able to sell goods although the goods are not demanded. And there is one special type, the third type – that is a salesman who is able to sell the goods that the salesmen does not even have it, to people who do not even want it.
